The Duomo

Yesterday we toured the Baptistery, the Santa Maria de Fiori and the Duomo, and their museum. It was one heck of a hot day, over 90 degrees Fahrenheit. But we trooped around (enjoying the air conditioning in the museum) and seeing the impressive buildings that were built so long ago, with people who had no use of the construction tools we have today. The Santa Maria de Fiore is actually built apon another church (which we also got to see) The original church was once dedicated to Saint Reparata. Saint Reparata is actually still featured in the Santa Maria de Fiori as a small statue, though the cathedral itself is dedicated to the Virgin Mary.
We toured the Baptistery first and it was in my opinion the most stunning of all the things I've seen up to this point. While the outer building of the Cathedral takes your breath away with all the intricate detail, the inside of it is not nearly as grand as the inside of the Baptistery. The Baptistery ceiling is covered in mosaic and gold and has impressive depictions of Christ's judgment of the individuals who get to ascend to heave and those who have been sentenced to hell.
The museum that is just off to the side of the Baptistery and the Cathedral is kind of a whole in the wall museum that I didn't notice at first glance. It houses carvings and statues from the Cathedral that have had to be removed for the sake of preservation and have been replaced with replicas. Our group got super lucky because the museum will be closing in April, for two years, to under go renovations. The museum also holds the gold Baptistery doors that were made famous by the competition of Lorenzo Ghilbrti, Filippo Brunelleschi, Donatello, and Jacopo della Quercia but it was Ghilberti winning the commission for the Northern Doors. Again we were lucky enough to get to see the doors reassembled before they have been apart for a while now for cleaning and preservation. Today we got the chance to climb up into the dome (the Duomo) of the Cathedral and look down at the city. Up close, the dome, done in fresco style painting ( painting in wet plaster and left to dry) is really impressive too though it is not as grandiose as the gold mosaics in the Baptistery. The climb up the Duomo consists of 492 steps one way and is really tight, narrow, one person spiraling stair cases that lead up to the room where you can over look the city. Again it was hot today so it was quiet a work out, but totally worth it for the view.